Mad World
by L.MacQ
Summary: *VINDICATED SEQUEL* Carrie's back in town with her super team, The Vixens, in tow. But between her ties to Chris D'Amico, her father's new promotion and reformed mobsters on her tail, Carrie, is well, screwed. RMOC, DrGOC, BGOC, ToddOC, IMOC
1. BOATS AND BIRDS

but you can set sail to the west if you want to  
>and past the horizon till I can't even see you<br>far from here where the beaches are wide  
>just leave me your wake to remember you by<strong><br>-GREGORY AND THE HAWK; BOATS AND BIRDS**

I frowned at my little sister. "No."

"What?" Ivy snapped, her green eyes narrowing at me from across the breakfast table. Memaw paid no attention to our little squabble, she was used to it by now. Everyone in the house was. In fact it was probably why our parents had taken Tanis on their getaway vacation and not us. "You promised!"

"I lied." I told her with a shrug. I licked the back of my spoon, trying to show her just how little I cared about her anger. Even if I totally did. "Besides, you're not ready."

"I've been training four fucking years, Carmen! Don't tell me I'm not ready!"

And what an eventful four years it had been. Our little hate filled duo had blossomed into a… well, it had blossomed into a small herd of hate filled people. Hate filled women, to be exact. So group therapy did have an upside.

Ivy crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. She had grown over time. She was eighteen now, with short blonde hair and a lean, muscled frame. Well, we both had that. Memaw had found out early on about our little plan and had taught us how to get strong without bulking up. Which is harder than it sounds but I will say this; that wonderful crazy senior taught me more than I ever wanted to know about scrapping, fighting and cussing. Scary things to learn from a seventy two year old woman, but I digress.

"Is Nikki going?" She asked. Her jaw twitched subtly.

"Nikki is an adult and can make her own decisions…" I pursed my lips. In all honesty, I didn't think the twenty year old was ready, but her older sister did, and I trusted Myra's word. I dipped my spoon back into my empty bowl.

"That's not fair! She's only been training a year!" Ivy was yelling now, her pale features flustered and red. "I've been helping you train her, for Christ's sake!"

"Hey!" We looked over at Memaw. She frowned at us and shook her head. "Watch your fuckin' mouth at the table, Evey, we eat there."

The girl rolled her eyes and muttered her apologies. She put her arms on the table and glared at me. "I can't believe this."

I knew she had every right to be angry, and with a sore hand I rubbed my eyes. I had sprained it the night before taking out a crank head. He'd been looking to score some and his dealer had upped the going rate, I guess. He didn't like that, and I had to intervene. If Lein hadn't been there, I could've ended up a lot worse off than a busted wrist and some shallow cuts. Junkies and knives never fair well for us. Probably never fair well for anybody.

"Okay, how about this…" I dropped my hand down on the table. "Stay back with Memaw for a bit, until I get settled, then I'll call down for you in a month or two."

Her mouth fell open and she gaped at me, "A month or two!"

"A month or two." I nodded. "You still have practice your aim anyway." I think I was being pretty damn reasonable. Sure, she'd have to make due with only Memaw for guidance, but with the Heytens gone, she would have her absolute focus. She'd pick it up in no time.

"What about Lein? Is she going with you too?"

I nodded. Lien was the riflemen in the group, and I had a feeling where this was going.

Ivy sighed. "Damn. Couldn't she teach me?"

"No. She has to study. So does Nikki." They were going to New York for school, me and Myra for work… and of course, to find the infamous Justice Forever that Dave had told me about. I hadn't told anyone about his cover, not even Ivy. I hadn't told anyone about Chris' either, but that was more out of shame. He had taken off to Europe, and I hadn't heard from him in little over a year. But I had heard from his mother, and apparently he was on some kind of drug fuelled bender. Not cool, Chrissy. Hugs not drugs.

I heard her groan and looked up from my corn flakes. "What?"

"I don't want you down there alone, Carrie."

"Hey, who's the pro, kid?"

"I know, but…"

I smirked at her and licked the scar on my bottom lip. I had Frank D'Amico to thank for that, and the one along my brow. Not to mention what that glass did to my back- but no sense whining about it. "Trust me. I let a psycho get the drop on me once, Ivy, I won't let it happen again." I stood, grabbing my coffee mug as I went. "Plus, the girls will be with me."

She let out a grunt as I moved over to the stove, where our grandmother stood. "Tell her it's a good idea."

"It's a good idea, Ive." Memaw smiled at her, "Now, who wants bacon?"

I shook my head and went to my room in the back, tripping over the weights in the doorway as I entered it. I glared at them, and moved to sit down on my work bench. I still tinkered around with my gadgets –everyone on the team had a special utility belt thanks to yours truly, and a costume that was lined with bullet proof material thanks to Mindy and Ian- and it was that tinkering that had got me a job at _Jake's Mechanics _in Manhattan. It wasn't a big place, but well established and it would pay well.

I rolled my wrist with a wince. My blue eyes dropped to the brace and I sneered at it. Why the hell did I think the brace would help? I tugged it off and chucked it across the room to where my duffle bag full of clothing sat, waiting and ready to go.


	2. THE WAY

They made up their minds and they started packing  
>They left before the sun came up that day<br>An exit to eternal summer slacking  
>But where were they going without ever knowing the way?<p>

**-FASTBALL; THE WAY**

Now I would like to say that the best thing to ever come out of my relationship with Chris D'Amico was, you know, the sex thing. Or even the teenage romance. But in all honesty, it was the car.

I leaned back in the leather seat of the Mist Mobile as I waited patiently for Myra and Nikki to get their lazy asses moving. The Mist Mobile. Well. It wasn't really the Mist Mobile any more, Angie had painted it black before she shipped it my way. Why would a mother send her son's cherry-popper such a gift? Because she's mad at him, and since I actually keep in touch with her, she likes me better. I smirked to myself. Go me.

The passenger door swung open and I pushed up my sunglasses as Myra's raspy voice cut through the silence.

"-whining about it! I called shotgun, now get your ass in the back!"

Nikki scoffed at her before she threw her luggage, a lone suitcase and carry on, into the backseat. Most of our stuff had been shipped over to the house we'd be sharing in NYC.

I cocked a brow at her sister, who had neither. Myra shrugged and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her leather jacket's pocket.

"I like to carry light," she explained absently. With the cigarette lit, she asked, "How'd Ivy take the news?"

I cringed dramatically. Nikki snickered behind us. "That bad, huh?"

In contrast to her sister's sultry voice, the younger Henten had a delicate, lyrical tone. Like my family, Nikki and Myra were only half-sisters. They didn't look as much alike as me and my sisters did, but the similarities were there in their dark eyes and hair. Other than that- night and day. With Nikki's mixed mocha skin and Myra's, well... Cancer pale.

"Hm." Cancer girl pursed her lips around her butt, "That's too bad."

"She'll get over it." I brushed off their concern, and my guilt, with a shrug. "Come on, we still gotta get Chao and we're losing daylight."

"It's noon." Nikki pointed out as she stretched out in the backseat. Her long, lean legs were something else her sister lacked. True, both were physically fit, and admittedly, pretty hot, but Nikki had a height advantage of maybe six inches.

Don't think Myra didn't hate that, either. The elder sister puffed away at her cigarette a moment before asking. "Think she'll be alright?"

"Who?"

"Ivy." The two chorused, simultaneously rolling their eyes.

"She'll be fine." I snapped at them. They dropped it easily enough when I changed the subject. "So, Niks, you sure you're ready?"

The twenty year old nodded confidently. "I am."

"Because you shouldn't rush anything."

Nikki scoffed at me. "Carrie. You were doing this when you were sixteen. I think I'll be okay."

"Well, I shouldn't have been doing it when I was sixteen and I just want you to be sure." My sunglasses reflected my own image back at me as I glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "I don't want anyone getting hurt."

She smiled appreciatively and nodded, patting my shoulder. "I know. It'll be fine. Come on!" the young woman shook my shoulder excitedly. "It's New York! How come no one's as pumped about this as I am!"

"Because we've been there," Myra replied dryly. "It's not all broad way plays and bright lights, kiddo."

I licked my bottom lip, feeling the scar that Frank D'Amico had given me absently. "You've got to be careful who you trust in the big city, Nikki."

She rolled her eyes at our theatrics. "I thought I was supposed to be the dramatic one, here guys. Come on! Let's make this our last bit of fun before we go all vigilante all over New York's ass!"

Myra and I shared a smirk before she reached over and cranked up the tunes.

_You're horny, Let's do it, Ride it, My pony, My saddle's-_

I felt my cheeks very slowly flush as they slowly turned to look at me. Their eyes were skeptical, amused, and just a little embarrassed.

"Why-"

"It's just a good song okay?" I shrieked at them, my face no doubt a crimson shade of red. "It's a sexy song and it goes with my sexy car! Shut the fuck up!"

No more than fifteen minutes later we were idling outside of Lien's parents' house.

"_Come and jump on it!"_ We sang. Nikki had some moves going on in the back, and even Myra was subtly bobbing her head.

When Lien finally reached us, her duffle bag over her shoulder, she could only stare. Nikki and I pointed at her as the chorus kicked back in and sang louder as we made lewd hand gestures and thrust our hips in her direction. The young Tai woman could only gape at us. We did not realize her parents were watching us from the doorway. Lien blushed and eventually submitted to getting into the car.

The moment we were around the block she started yelling at us. "I can't believe you would do that! You know my parents-"

"_My pony!"_

Lien glared at us in the front, and turned to slap Nikki in the leg. Nikki slapped her back. Soon they were fighting in the back seat. We allowed it to go on for a few minutes while we continued to jam out to mid nineties rap music. Myra put a stop to it when a swift kick to the back of my seat made me verve on to the shoulder of the highway. The rest of the drive was spent playing car games and bickering over the radio. Not cool. Incredibly lame if we're being honest. It was a secret we would take to our graves, but in the meantime, it was a suitable form of entertainment.

Trust me, after so many hours in the car, license plate games get old. Real old. Now, neither Myra, nor her sister are competitive by nature. Being stuck in a car –regardless of how sexy it is- with two jocks –Lien was going to school on a field hockey scholarship after all- was most likely a trip from hell for the Hentens. That's why I didn't blame her when Myra demanded I pull over for the night. Although, I did fight her on it and for more than a minute we swerved in and out of traffic in a desperate bid for control over the steering wheel.

The motel we pulled in to only cost pennies a night. Once we stepped inside the room, we realized why. The walls were a dark fleshy pink that put all of us on edge, and even more disturbing was how freakishly humid it was.

Lien wrinkled her nose and carefully touched one of the two queen beds. It was the one she and I would be sharing. From the look of horror she shot me, I had to ask.

"What?"

"The sheets are moist." She told me with a disgusted shudder.

"Ew." I dropped my duffle bag on to the floor. It creaked under the weight. Even the furniture was crappy. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nikki slink in to the bathroom out of the corner of my eye. I shook my head, ushering Lien away from the mattress with a wave of my hand. "Don't touch that. You'll get sick."

A shriek alerted of the condition of the bathroom. Well, that and Nikki frantically fleeing it. Her coffee and cream complexion was stark white and she shook her head declaring, "No! We are not staying here!"

Myra rolled her eyes. "Calm down, Nik-"

"There is _a rat_ in the _toilet!_"

The eldest of us blinked at her as Lien and I shared a brief look of distress before Myra told us, voice calm as ever, "Back to the car, guys."

We obeyed without question, and slept in the Mist Mobile. We spent over two days in that car. I was certain we would never leave it. That we would die in that car. But eventually, we rolled into a parking lot.

Our parking lot. Sure, the neighborhood wasn't the best. Sure, the paint on the house was now grey. Sure, there was a dark, creepy alleyway a foot away. But all we saw was the house. Or more importantly, the beds that had been set up in there.

Nikki was the first out of the car, and the first to be asleep. The place hadn't come furnished, but we had, had the furniture brought in the week before. When we finally dragged our sleep depraved bodies in to the house, we found our youngest asleep on the couch.

"Lucky cunt," Lien bemoaned, before making her way toward one of the bedrooms. We could unpack later. Right now, all that was on our minds were sleep. Myra patted her sister's head and followed the brunette down the hall while I made my way outside. My legs were stiff from the ride. I needed a jog. I decided to take one around the block, check out the sights.

Horns honked aggressively in the distance, people shouted vulgarities and a drug deal went down in an elementary school parking lot. I paused and smiled to myself.

It was good to be home.

**A/n: Okay, here's the second chapter, sorry the first took so long to get to you(I was moving-again) and I hope you enjoyed it. **


	3. REAL WORLD

And everyone here, hates everyone here for doing just like  
>They do<br>It's best if we all keep this quiet instead  
>And I couldn't tell, why everyone here was doing me like<br>They do  
>But I'm sorry now, and I don't know how<br>To get it back to good

**-MATCHBOX TWENTY; REAL WORLD**

After a day of lounging and petty arguments –hey, that car trip was psychologically scarring. We had PTSD- we finally ventured out into the real world. I was to show them all New York had to offer. Apparently they forgot that not only was I a dweeb in high school, but besides from the superhero thing, a rather dull kid. Sure, I fucked the mob boss' son, but that was really it on my risky business scenario. So I was dumped and they went off to buy Lien's parents an apology 'I Heart NY' t-shirt and sight see. I wished them a good time and let them take the Mist Mobile- read, let _Myra_ take the Mist Mobile- and took a bus downtown to see Travis.

My own Big Daddy. I frowned as the elevator pulled me upward. Still sounded sexual to me. Crossing my arms, I leaned back against the metallic walls as the door dinged open.

I cocked a brow as a man, maybe in his mid to late twenties stepped in holding a box. Skinny and tall, my nerd fetish was kicked in to high gear as he smiled sheepishly at me in greeting.

"Hey." I cleared my throat awkwardly and died a little on the inside. I was not some stupid school girl anymore! I was twenty years old! I was a super heroine! I was a warrior damn it! Forcing my blush to die, I smirked at him. "So, up or down?"

He shifted the box in his arms and nodded, "Up, please."

My inner geek dweeb shrieked joyously at the sight of horn rimmed glasses tucked inside his coat pocket, but I made not a sound as I pushed the up button. There was a moment of silence before I asked, "What's with the box?"

"Oh, uh, just some evidence." He swallowed and bit his lip.

"Hm." Boring. "How exciting. Are you a cop?"

He opened his mouth to speak but the doors opened once again and it was my turn to step out. With a smile, I held the door. "So," I glanced at his name tag, "D. Cody." I tilted my head. "What does the D stand for?"

The man blushed, and I felt a hint of pride at that. As I always did when I had a good looking young man on the ropes. But he needn't know that. "Drystan." He told me, a sheepish smile on his thin lips, "It was my mom's maiden name."

"Ah." I nodded in understanding. "Well, Cody, maybe I'll see you around some time."

He shot me another crooked smile and nodded. I let go of the door and any response to my question was lost to the elevator as it continued on its way. With a bit more of a bounce in my step, I went about searching for my dad in the sea of desks. Cops were seated behind many of them. Frankly, I was a little uneased, but not terribly. However, when I arrived upon a familiar face, I paused.

Detective Markus blinked up at me a moment, most likely in confusion before asking, "Can I help you, Miss?"

"Um, yeah. Have you seen my dad around?" I inquired casually.

A smile slowly stretched across his face as he stood. "Little Carmen Wilken. Good to see you kiddo." He gave me a brief, one armed hug and nodded, "Boss man's right this way."

"Boss man?"

"Yeah, he got promoted last year," Markus arched a brow at me, "Didn't you hear?"

I shook my head. He hadn't mentioned that. While I had stuck to my promise, we spoke usually once a week, we rarely opened up and shared our feelings. There was still a lot about me he didn't know. And apparently not a lot I knew about him. I tucked my hands in my pockets and licked my scar.

"So, Carrie, what're you doing back in town?" Markus asked.

I couldn't tell if he was being sincere or just trying to make conversation, but answered honestly. Or at least as honestly as I could. "I got a job. Besides some friends of mine were coming here for school. Thought I'd give 'em the grand tour."

"That's nice."

"So… anything new in your life?" _Like a new ward of the state_, I wanted to add. _Like an evil, adorable, malicious little girl named Mindy? _I wanted to shout. But I didn't. Instead I rocked on my feet impatiently and smiled in a most likely deranged manner.

"Not much." Markus knocked on the office door labeled _Wilken_. "My daughter's going into tenth grade."

I bounced on my heels and grinned. "She is? How's she fitting in? I mean, it was probably hard for her at first, but I mean, she adjusted okay right?"

Markus stared at me. "Um, yeah, actually, how did you-"

"Daddy!" I chirped as the man in question stepped out what was apparently his office.

His brows shot up as I threw my arms around him in an attempt to get the hell away from Markus. To be fair, he could've been shocked at either my very presence or the fact that I called him daddy. Even I was a little disturbed by it. But, like a trooper, he patted my back and led me into his office.

It was clean, large and fairly sparse. The walls were a dull gray, as were the curtains that lined the lone window. There was only florescent lighting, and frankly the place was a little depressing.

"I wasn't expecting you so soon."

Travis had always been one for being direct. I smirked and crossed the room. Throwing the curtains back, I hauled the window up. "Yeah." With a smile, I looked back at him, "I figured I'd get the drop on ya. Maybe we could grab lunch."

He smiled. My father, although we were not always on the best terms, was a handsome man. Dark brown hair, dark blue eyes –which I inherited- and a sturdy, muscled form that his years on the force had given him. But he looked old. Now, I don't mean to sound mean, but for a man in his early forties, he looked in his mid-fifties, that being said; smiling did wonders for him. Seriously, he lost like twenty years off his face when he did it.

I beamed back at him. "Is that a yes?"

"I'd love to." He told me, grin still on his lips. "How was your trip?"

I let out a groan and moved away from the window. "Easily the worst two days of my life." Tucking my hands into my jacket pockets, I continued, "Including those couple days I was in a coma."

He snickered, undoing the holster of his gun and opening the drawer of his desk. "Is that right?"

"Mhm. How about you? I mean, you're the boss man now." My thumb jerked over my shoulder to where the window was. "I mean, you even got a view of a dank alleyway. That's livin' the high life, my friend."

Travis –dad… hm. I really should call him dad. But we weren't quite on that level of forgiveness yet. Maybe when he slapped me back we would be, but until then… Travis it was. Anyway, he had just set his gun in the desk, and undid the clasp of his badge when the door opened.

"Serge?" A young redhead poked his head in the door. "Uh- we have a situation."

"Get someone else to deal with it, Ferguson." Travis told him, smirk on his full lips. "I'm out to lunch."

"It's a robbery in progress." His light eyes flickered to me momentarily, and he seemed a bit hesitant to go on. "We've got two officers down, sir."

"Goddamn it." My father's face tightened, and it was eerie watching someone age so quickly. His blue eyes went to me and he shrugged weakly, offering, "Dinner?"

"Sure." I licked my scar and swallowed. After living with my dad twenty one years I had learned that his job always came first. Always would come first. So why the hell was I so surprised? Had I really thought he would change? That we were any closer?

He gave me a peck on the forehead. A quick pat on the shoulder, then he and the ginger left. With a sigh, I dropped into the chair behind his desk. It bobbed unsteadily under my weight and I pursed my lips. I was such an idiot. I had no right to feel hurt. I should feel stupid for not expecting this. After a moment of moping, I stood, or rather I went to, when a picture on the corner of the desk caught my eye.

It was of the two of us. I was about five, hair in pigtails and dressed in a tiny t-ball jersey and he was in a backwards baseball cap. Both of us had wide, stupid grins on our faces. A smile tugged at my lips, and just like that, Travis was back in my good graces.

Practically hopping out of his seat, I skipped out of the police station with a grin on my face. I still had a few stops to make before heading home and one of them, of course, was to see my homies. That's Todd and Dave, I mean. I didn't keep contact with Katie, after she found out Dave wasn't you know, a homosexual, she had her new boyfriend beat him down. And nobody beats down my Davie! I mean, yes what he did made him total scum, but there was no reason to be violent about it. Not to Davie, sweetest boy in the whole wide…city of New York. Maybe Marty. But not Davie. But those two could wait. I didn't want to reveal myself so soon. Besides, I still had to plan how exactly I wanted to spring myself on them.

Little did I know that Justice Forever would be taking care of that for me.


	4. BLACK SHEEP

Hello again, friend of a friend

I knew you when

Our common goal was waiting for

The world to end

Now that the truth is just a rule that you

Can bend

You crack the whip, shape shift and trick

The past again.

**-Metric; Black Sheep**

After my errands, which really just consisted of going to the gym and buying a few things for the house, I finally made it home. I was fully prepared to kick my shoes off, lie down on the couch and sleep until my dad- Travis, called to cancel our plans.

But fate had other plans, as she often does; the selfish bitch. I had just fished my keys out of my pocket when I noticed it. The door was slightly ajar. Now, that would be no big thing back in Calgary. People left their doors open all the time in Canada. They were just better people.

But this wasn't Canada. This was New York. And in New York when you were in the slums and you're door was slightly ajar, chances were you were in for some kind of rape. God. Damn. It. I had been home two days and already this shit was happening.

With I sigh, I laced my keys through my fingers and slowly opened the door. There was some shuffling and the sound of hoarse whispers filled the air.

I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I knew there was more than one. So when my eyes landed on Lien's field hockey… stick, I grabbed it without second thought and decided to wield it like a bat. My keys, of course, still between my fingers. Hey, you can never be too careful.

"-a cop's kid."

"True," The raspy voice agreed, "But she was also sleeping with a D'Amico."

_It was one time!_ I wanted to shriek. But I managed to grit my teeth instead.

"Look, I know Carrie-"

I grin sprung to my face. Dave!

"Me too."

The smile fell. That wasn't Dave… Slowly, I continued forward, stick held high.

The second voice continued on, "She's not really the scheming type, I mean, I seen her put a fork in a toaster. Twice."

"Exactly!" Kick Ass went on, "She's not the shady type. And she only fucked Chris D'Amico one time."

Remembering all I learned from my many self-defense courses, I made my presence known. Meaning I jumped into the living room, screamed, "_I AM NOT A VICTIM!"_ and began whapping the closest mother fucker in sight with my boom stick.

Unfortunately that person happened to be Dave. Unlucky mother fucker. In my moment of insanity, I did not notice the very large man, or his very large dog, advancing on me. I continued to swing and shriek as the man _physically picked me up_, carried me to the couch, and dropped me there.

"_What the fuck?"_ I shrieked at him. One leg kicked out at his solid form as I moved to block any kind of penis that may be coming my way. "Why are you in my house!" I continued to yell, glaring up at the large man in costume –why was it always large men in costumes that broke into my house? Why were there never ladies? My gaze landed on a young woman in very tight, revealing clothing a few paces behind the whimpering Kick Ass. He was clutching his face, and I could see the telltale stains of red beginning to form under his nose.

"_Goddamn it, Carmen!"_

"_You!"_ I pointed at him, and bared my teeth like a feral animal. Completely ignoring the other members of what I assume was Justice Forever. "You saved me from dumpster rape one time! _One time!_ And now you think you have the right to barge into my fucking piece of shit house, you mother fucking son of cock eating whore!"

There was a moment of silence. My ability to cuss often had this effect on people. The large man in army fatigues and a green mask shook his head at me. "A little girl like you shouldn't be so angry."

"You broke into my house." I told him, considerably calmer. I leaned back into the cushy cushions of my couch and dropped my legs on to the table in front of me. With crossed arms and a pout, I glared at Cujo. It glared back at me, growling lowly. I sneered at it before looking up at its master. Cocking a brow, I asked, "I assume there's a reason, you're here."

"Chris D'Amico." Another man said. This one was a touch taller than the man, and maybe a hundred pounds lighter and clad in an all back costume with spikes all over it. He looked ridiculous. "Have you had contact with him?"

I shrugged, my eyes going to where another hero was helping Dave stand. "Not for the past couple months, why?"

"What about his mother?"

"Who, Angie?" I perked up. I love Angie. "Yeah, I talk to her all the time, why?"

The large man in front of me bent down to my eye level. "Look here, Miss Wilken. You know that the D'Amicos are a dangerous lot, right?"

"Uh- yeah, I do." Scoffing at him, I stood. "Angie's pit-bull of a husband put me and my sister in the hospital."

"And yet you still associate with them," The lanky man drawled sarcastically. His voice had a twang to it I couldn't place, and that irritated me.

I shot him a nasty look as I stood. As I moved away from the group, over to the hallway, I went on. "Frank D'Amico's dead. Angie's harmless. And Chrissy, well," I shrugged carelessly out of my jacket. Licking my scar, I faltered. "He's too doped out of his mind to give little old me a call."

I hung my coat up in the closet. When I turned back around, Kick Ass was only a few feet away from me, pointing and opening his mouth to no doubt yell at me. I interrupted him. "Don't even."

"But you-"

"You broke into my house." With my hand on my hip, my gaze flickered over each person there. "To talk about my ex." I stayed on the dog a bit longer. My shoulders slumped as I told them pathetically, "I'm not even supposed to have any pets."

The man in black snickered again. I glared at him. "Now, if that's all-"

"Is it true you're the daughter of Travis Wilken?" The older man in green army fatigues asked. Curious, not menacing. I kind of liked this guy. He reminded me a bit of Big Daddy. He was direct. A direct pain in my ass.

"Dear god." I nodded, pushing my blonde bangs from my eyes, "Yes, I am. He's my father." My cell phone beeped. "That's probably him now."

The man nodded. "Well. Keep yourself out of trouble Miss Wilken." He patted my shoulder as he moved past me. His dog was close behind. "Invest in better locks."

"Oh don't think I won't." I grabbed the woman's arm as she too, went to leave. "Do me a favor?"

She lifted a skeptical brow. "What?"

"Don't let them break in to my house again." I frowned. "One of my roommates, well… she's got issues with men being in her house."

"Why should I care?"

That threw me for a bit of a loop. I cocked a brow at her. "Because you're a girl. She's a girl. Some kind of empathy would be appreciated."

The woman paused, but nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks."

The man in black was next to go, brushing past me as calm as ever, and I will admit, I thought about chucking something at him. Instead I just smiled tightly and gave him a boot on the butt. He stumbled as I smirked and shut the door.

"What the hell, Carmen?" Dave snapped at me, ripping off his mask. As I suspected, blood gushed from his nose. "You know who I am! Why-"

"Had to keep up my front, babe." I smirked at him and looked over to his little friend. The little friend who supposedly knew me. I took in his height and posture and guessed, "Todd?"

"Uh, no, sorry." The boy pulled his mask off and I arched a brow. Marty. Huh. Didn't know he had it in him. He pointed between me and Dave, "So how'd you know about, you know?"

They had both changed since I'd last seen them. Marty was stockier, a bit more of a muscled build to him. Dave had filled out as well, and I was a tad surprised he had kept my secret.

When I made no move to answer, he did something I didn't expect. Dave lied for me. "She caught me getting changed once."

Marty's brows rose. "You never told me she knew!"

"Not one of our prouder moments." I explained with a listless shrug. "I really should have knocked." With a disgusted shudder, I chuckled.

"What're you doing back, anyway?" Dave demanded with crossed arms and a pout. "You didn't mention it in any of your e-mails."

Another careless bob of my shoulders. He glared at me. I looked innocently back. Even batted my eyelashes for good measure. Eventually Kick Ass gave in and smiled and we were hugging. I gave him a stern slap on the back before pulling away.

"Good to see you too, Davie." I ruffled his shaggy dark hair playfully and gave him a peck on the lips. The taste of copper was disconcerting, but I ignored it.

Marty snorted and repeated under his breathe, "Davie."

"Shut up Martin, you're next." I told him as I moved to embrace him as well. His hug wasn't as long, and he didn't get a kiss. Although he did give me a pat on the butt.

This earned the little bastard a slap and I quickly ushered them out the door as my cell once again beeped.

"This conversation isn't over, Wilken." Marty warned me.

I smirked as the two of them pulled their masks back on and I wished them a safe night.


	5. MOUTH

All your mental armor drags me down  
>We can't breathe when we come around<br>All your mental armor drags me down  
>Nothing hurts like your mouth<p>

**-BUSH; MOUTH**

Eventually, Travis and I went out to dinner.

It wasn't that impressive. A shitty little cop diner with bad coffee and bland food, but the company was good if not a little strained. I took a sip of my water and smiled tightly at the man across from me.

Travis returned it a bit more genuinely, and I relaxed. "How was the robbery?" I asked, twiddling with my straw.

"Not as dramatic as the kid made it seem," He told me with an amused glance. "But he's new, so I'll cut him a little slack this time."

"That's nice of you."

"Mhm. So, kiddo, tell me about this job you got."

"Uh, you know, pretty basic mechanics job." I shrugged passively. "I gotta meet the boss man tomorrow."

"No chance of you going back to school?"

He was referring to my couple semesters at Calgary U. There was no way in hell I was going back to school. I didn't have the attention span. I had spent most of my classes doodling swear words in my binder and checking out my professor. "None at all."

"Hm. Well, what about that boy of yours?" He asked, raising his mug of coffee to his lips.

I arched a brow. "What boy?"

"I thought you were seeing some boy, Julian. What happened to him?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "Ian's gay, d- _Travis_. We've been over this before."

He frowned deeply. "Boys'll say anything to get you into bed, Carmen."

"Yes, I know. But he's gay." When he still seemed unconvinced, I added, "I promise."

"Well, good." His phone beeped and he groaned. "Do you mind if I…?"

With a smirk, I told him, "Go ahead, hotshot." I leaned back in my seat as he raised his cell to his ear.

"Wilken." He tapped his spoon on the edge of his coffee cup. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay. Okay, I've- I'm gonna go. Just hand the paper work over to Cody, he'll fix whatever problems you're having. Okay. _Okay_- alright, bye."

He hung up and let out a scoff before telling me, "That kid's gonna get himself shot."

I giggled. "Nice."

"Well, he is." Travis spun his spoon around his coffee. "Ever think about joining the force?"

His tone was passive. Too passive. No doubt he had been considering this for a while and I decided to let him run with it. Looking up from my glass of water, I gave a curious, "Erm?"

"Well, you have certain… crime fighting experience." He lifted his mug to his lips and winked at me. "Just something to consider, if you're not going to pick up your old digs."

"I am picking up my old digs. And I haven't really considered being a pig."

"Carmen."

"Sorry."

He sighed, bulky shoulders falling just a tad. "I figured it was a long shot."

I smirked weakly at him. "Sorry."

"No biggie, I don't think I'd want my little girl getting shot at anyways." Travis smiled slightly at me and cleared his throat. "So. Picking up the old threads, huh?"

Nodding, I plucked a stray sugar packet from the small canister and began playing with it. "Yeppers."

"Thought you might say that." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a thin, long box. "Here."

I took it from him with a furrowed brow and popped it open. Inside lay about a dozen long stripes of thick plastic. I pulled one out and stared at him. Squinting, my blue eyes went from the strip to him than back to the strip. "Is… is this some kind of sex thing? Because-"

"No it's not a sex thing!" He snapped at me in a low tone, "They're plastic cuffs."

"So it's kind of a sex thing." I reasoned. Frantically, I looked around the diner. Where was the waitress? Our dinner should have been here by now! She would get no tip!

Travis snatched them from my hand. "They're not for sex!" His voice a frantic whisper, he ordered, "Stop saying sex!"

I glared at him and crossed my arms protectively over my chest. "That's sort of immature."

"They're not for you! I forbid you from using them that way!"

Smirking, I told him, "That just makes me want to use them irresponsibly even more."

Travis stared at me. Completely unimpressed and just a little deranged. "Don't. So help me god, Carmen, if I find out you're sexually active I will hunt down whatever little _fuck-_"

"Wow!" Even for a cop that was kind of dark and hostile. I held up a hand, "Slow your roll, dude!"

He continued to scowl at me. "Then don't use them for… you know."

"Yeah, okay, jeez." Uncomfortable and just a little confused, I took the plastic cuffs back from him. "I'll be responsible, okay? Calm down."

"Hm." The frown didn't leave his face and the air became tense and awkward. I was unsurprised, this happened about 95% of the time we were together.

This was pretty much the end of our dinner. He drove me home in his squad car, we didn't say much beyond goodnight and when we'd see each other next (we decided to extend our awkward dinner in to a weekly awkward lunch) and then the night was mine.

Not that I had any plans. So I decided to venture out with Nikki and Lien. They had enjoyed their day of sightseeing, and still had a bit more energy to burn (unlike our older comrade who I found passed out on our couch) so we decided to hit up Atomic Comics and get some coffee.

"He really chewed you out in a restaurant full of cops?" Lien asked with slightly raised brows as she sipped delicately at her tea. She always had the wonderful ability to look completely casual while being either totally bitchy or totally rude. It was something I admired about her.

I nodded. "Yep."

Nikki chuckled next to me. She continued to flex my sex cuffs, a look of pure glee on her mocha features. "That sucks."

"Stop playing those."

"Seriously, Nik," The girl on the other side of the booth frowned at her. "We don't know what Wilken's been using those for."

I shot her a thin smile. Lien returned it a bit more genuinely. She was lucky she was adorable, or I'd have to kill her for her lack of subtlety.

Nikki looked between us with skepticism. "Is this a sex thing?"

"Yes." We chimed together. I licked the back of my spoon as Chao went on. "Besides if she wants to have kinky sex at her dad's expense, that is her choice and we should respect her for it."

I glared at her. Nikki smirked. The waitress looked very confused. The lithe brunette cleared her throat awkwardly before asking Nikki if she needed a refill.

The youngest of us nodded in the affirmative, and the waitress quickly left. We could see her pull out her cell phone, no doubt to gossip about us to her little sorority friends (she was in some kind of pink t-shirt with Greek letters. I assumed she was a sorority chick). We watched her go about her business a few moments before a chill ran down my spine.

This was no normal tingle; Something was off. I reached into my own pocket and pulled out my own cell. The girls went back to talking about all the immoral uses for the plastic cuffs as I dialed my grandmother's phone number.

"Hello?" My Memaw asked.

"You stop that right now, Dovelyn."

"Excuse me?"

I pointed an accusing finger at the receiver. "I don't know what you're up to, but I don't fuckin' like it! Show some self-respect!"

"How did… oh." Her voice became soft and sentimental. "You're maternal instinct has kicked in! That's my girl."

"Seriously don't fuck that guy. You're too good for him."

"You don't even know Ted!"

"I don't need to know T-"

"Hi, Carrie."

I glanced up to find Todd peering down at me. I stared, slack jawed at him a moment before muttering, "I gotta go. Don't fuck him," to my grandmother and closing the phone. I looked up at him with a tight smile, and tried to keep my throat from closing up.

"Oh so you're Toddie!" Nikki, the most polite and, (let's face it,) nicest of us, stood and offered the boy…man… she offered Todd her hand.

He glanced at her and shook it weakly. "Hi."

"It's good to finally meet you!" She gushed, not realizing she was totally screwing me. Apparently Lien did though and was content to smirk at me from across the table as the youngest of us went on. "Carrie talks about you all the time!"

"She does?" He sounded skeptical. He had every right to be. We hadn't talked since we fucked in Vegas. Well, that's not true. We talked a total of three times since we boned in Vegas. It was not our fault! We were both drunk and sad and it was all his stupid mom's fault! Who invites their estranged son to their second marriage? Who?

His hands were buried deep in his jacket pockets and he smiled weakly at Nikki. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm Nikki! This Lien-" The brunette whapped our Tai friend on the back of the head. "Get up!"

Lien shot me a look before shaking her head. "I'm not gonna do that." She pursed her lips at him. "You're taller than I thought you'd be."

"Thanks." He said soberly. "Carrie. Can I talk to you?"

I slumped in my seat briefly before nodding and getting out of my chair. Under my breathe I muttered, "Goddamn it," as I followed him out of Atomics.

"Hey Toddie."

"Hey Toddie?" He repeated with hurt brown eyes. "Hey Toddie? Why- why the hell haven't… I thought we were friends, Carmen."

"We are friendly! I swear! I just…" I licked my scar and raked a hand through my long, blonde hair. I grabbed his jacket and shook him. "I am not mature enough for this!"

"Damn right you're not," A familiar voice piped up from behind us.

"Shut the fuck up, Davie!" I shrieked at him. I turned back to Toddie and took a deep breathe to settle my nerves. "Todd. I'm sorry you lost your virginity to a loser. I'm sorry I didn't call you back, I suck, I know, but I swear to god, and I mean this, that I love you and I'm so so so sorry I hurt you."

His big brown Bambi eyes stared down at me. "Fuck you, Carrie."

My stomach sank and I let him go. "Toddie."

"No, I mean it." Todd glared at me. "I thought we were friends- best friends- and you blow me off like that? Why?"

"I was confused! I never- never thought about you like that and then we you know-"

"I feel like I shouldn't be here for this," Dave announced to us. We shot him looks of annoyance and he slowly slunk in to Atomics to watch the scene along with Lien, Nikki and the waitress.

Todd took my arm and led me away from the window. They simply moved to see us better. "Look, Carrie, I know we didn't exactly plan for… what happened, but you promised you wouldn't just drop me."

"I know. I suck. I know." Awkwardly I looked away from him. "I just didn't know how to… react."

"What, you think I did? I mean, sure, I had a few dirty dreams in which you co-starred, but damn it, Carmen, I never thought anything would actually come of it!" He declared passionately, a state of what could be called panic on his features. His leg bounced anxiously as he told me, "Look Carrie. I'm still pretty pissed at how things went down."

"Sorry."

"Stop saying that, you're only making me hate you more."

I frowned at him and resisted the urge to say it again. Instead I licked my lip and asked how I could stop him from feeling that way.

"Just… don't mention it, okay?" Todd swallowed and went on, "I got a girlfriend now, and I don't want to fuck this up okay?"

I felt a pang in my chest at that, but nodded. I forced a smile. "That's great Todd."

"Yeah, it is, so… please." His frown didn't leave his lips, even he begged for some kind of normalcy between us. "Don't fuck this up for me. No _Toddie_, no excessive touching and please, please, don't mention… you know."

"Hear ya loud and clear. _Todd_." I gave him an affectionate punch on the arm.

He returned it awkwardly and went back inside Atomics. Fuck my life.

**A/N: Thank you for reading, sorry for the delay, props to my awesome beta!**


	6. ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER

The deception with tact, just what are you trying to say?  
>You've got a blank face, which irritates<br>Communicate, pull out your party piece  
>You see dimensions in two<br>State your case with black or white  
>But when one little cross leads to shots, grit your teeth<br>You run for cover so discreet, why don't they

**-The Fixx; One Thing Leads To Another**

The girls weren't big enough sadists to make me sit still and play nice with Todd and his waitress. Of course it was his waitress. That GABGAB house hussy! But all in all, a pretty nice girl. I think her name was Amy or Ashley or Beth or something, I don't know. The fact of the matter was she was in, and I was out. Not that I blamed him, but still. It was a bit of a hit to my ego. So we headed home and I slunk in to bed to pout.

My best friend was ashamed of me. Or rather, where his junk had been inside my person. That was a little insulting. And in that moment of angst, I vowed that I would not let Todd's decision bother me. Then I heroically brooded for the rest of the night. Go me.

In retrospect, that was probably a bad idea for two reasons: one, it was the night before my first day at Jake's, and two, brooding does not equate to sleeping well. In fact I was up most of the night wondering why I attracted losers and vowing that I would do better and not date any more immature or evil boys. Of course my friends were there to support and comfort me.

"You look like shit." Myra told me as I practically crawled in to the kitchen. I shot her a nasty look over the kitchen island and hopped into a stool. When she noticed the stink eye, she placed a cup of coffee in front of me. She was the only one up, being as the other two were students and still nestled in their beds, and unlike me was a total freakin' morning person.

Her short, dark hair was neatly in place and her usual leather studded jacket traded in for a dark pantsuit (Complete with blazer!) for her day job. She was some kind of social worker for battered women (of the "I have life experience, and the younger girls could really use some one to relate to," breed) and looked practically respectable in that outfit. Considerably more professional than my black t-shirt and tan cargo pants.

I thanked her absently before taking a sip of the joe.

"So, today's the big day, huh?"

"Yep." I glanced up at her. "Just about ready to go, babe?"

Myra nodded, primped her hair once more, and started heading toward the door. Without me. I made her wait in the Mist Mobile for ten minutes while I gathered my tools and ran a brush through my hair. Once I was suitably prettified, at least for someone going to work in a mildly shady auto shop, I made my way to the garage.

The drive to the Women's Clinic was a quick one, and then it was a twenty minute drive to downtown where I would become some dude's slave.

As I pulled into the back of the lot, a young pale man greeted me. He raised a hand as I stepped out of my beautiful, beautiful machine. He took in the beauty that was the Mist Mobile a moment before addressing me.

"Lovely." He told me with a rather thick British accent.

I shook his hand with a grin. "Lovely." My shoulders bounced as my grin widened, "You're adorable."

"I get that a lot." The young limey ran a hand through his dark hair. "You must be Carmen?"

"Carrie." I corrected, still smirking, because well, I've never met a Brit before and I was excited, "You must be Jake?"

"Uh, no, no, Jake was my father." He licked his lips before expanding, "He left the shop to my brother and I when he passed."

"Oh god, dude that sucks."

He blinked at me. "Yes. Yes it does. I'm Jeremy, I do the taxes and paperwork and such. You'll be working for my brother JayJ." The pale (cancer pale) man rubbed the back of his neck. His bright blue eyes fell to the ground a moment before returning to mine. "Please don't sue him for sexual har-ess-ment."

I'm sure he was saying harassment, but it just came out so strange that I began to giggle obnoxiously in his face. After I settled, I promised I would not so long as I was guaranteed the same luxury. With a smirk he told me I would be. We shared a smile and he led me into the garage where several men turned to check out the new chick. The only chick, apparently. I saluted and they went back to work as my new boss welcomed me into his office.

A tall skinny man wearing eye makeup called me over from the door way. "Oi! Sweetcheeks! Get'n 'ere a moment!"

I cocked a brow at Jeremy. "Is he talking to you or me?"

"You." The younger brother told me with a hint of something akin to embarrassment in his voice. He placed a hand on my shoulder (after checking to make sure I would be okay with that) and led me to the office.

The man in leather pants motioned for me to sit with a flamboyant gesture of his arm before kicking the door closed behind me. He eyed me with suspicion as he walked around me to his side of the desk. I noticed his eyes were brown in comparison to his brother's blue and his skin closer to a healthy olive colour, but said nothing as he inspected me. I would've been unnerved, but his amount of eye liner made me assume him gay. Well, that and the leather pants.

"So. Miss Carmen Wilken. Li'le Carmen Wilken wants ta work with the big boys, that it?"

I stared at him. "The big boys?" I repeated with a crooked smile.

He didn't look quite so jolly. "Look, toots, I ain't got no problem with no dames in the doghouse, but don't think you're gonna get treated no different from the rest'a us."

"I know. I've worked in garages before."

"I know you know." He nodded. "But that's why ya gonna shadow me." His hand dropped to my head. "I now pronounce ya on probation!"

Then he forceful shook my head and slapped me on the cheek. I stared at him. He stared back, only his gaze was not astounded. In fact he seemed rather bored about what had transpired as he told me nonchalantly, "Well? Off ya go."

"Go where?" I dared a peek at Jeremy. His face was in his hands, and he seemed to be doing his best not to return my questioning glances.

"You're the new bitchboy." Jay J. paused. He drummed his fingers on his chair a moment before correcting. "Bitchgirl. You get the first coffee and donuts of the day. Might wanna start stoppin' off before work."

Damn. I had just escaped the life of a gopher, but I guess until I got some more experience under my utility belt, I'm be the shop's bitchboy. Girl. Whatever. With a sigh, and a weak smile, I stood. "Alright. Should I take orders or what?"

The elder brother reached in to his tight leather pant's pocket and pulled out a wad of cash and an apparent list of instructions. "Go to the Dunkin Donuts on Avenue 8. They got the cheapest coffee and best donuts around, alright?"

I saluted him and left. A few of the guys shot me curious looks, but no one said anything as I left through the back doors. Oh the responsibilities I was entrusted with.

**A/N: Thank you to my beta thekkid for the coffee place!**


End file.
